Iceland Road Trip 2016 – Last Day

posted in: Iceland, Iceland 2016 | 2

By the end of the trip, Alex finally started to feel better, but we actually have not planned anything special for our last day. We just decided to revisit Iceland’s Golden Circle and have a dinner in a nice restaurant.

The Golden Circle was, as expected, very crowded and therefore disappointing. These are all beautiful areas, but there are just too many people there to enjoy them properly.

A lot was written about the Golden Circle already and we have not captured anything unusual on camera this time, so here is just a fast recap of what we saw.

Þingvellir

Þingvellir
Þingvellir
One of a few historically important sites in Iceland, the location of the founding of Alþingi, the world’s oldest existing parliament. I think the place for the parliament was chosen very well, since it is also a place where the Eurasian and American tectonic plates meet.

Geysir and Strokkur Geysers

Strokkur
Strokkur

Seeing the Strokkur geyser erupt is never disappointing, and it does not disappoint every 8-10 minutes. Again, there were a lot of people, but we still had a lot of fun when the geyser erupted and the wind delivered a bucketful of water right over us. But now I can say that I showered under Strokkur.

Strokkur
Strokkur
Geysir
Geysir, the geyser that named all geysers
Strokkur
Strokkur

Laugarvatn

Vegetation near Laugarvatn
Vegetation near Laugarvatn

For a lunch we went to Lindin restaurant in Laugarvatn, were we ate a sample of Icelandic wild meats: whale, caribou, and wild geese. It was very interesting :), and the food was good, too.

At Lindin restaurant
At Lindin restaurant
Lake Laugarvatn
Lake Laugarvatn
Lake Laugarvatn
Lake Laugarvatn

This round pool was first mentioned in the Kristni saga that tells the story of Iceland’s conversion to Christianity in the year 1000. People did not want to be immersed in cold water and rode here to be baptized.

Vígdalaug
Hot spring Vígðalaug

Brúarfoss Waterfall

Not a main Golden Circle attraction, but this Brúarfoss waterfall is seriously pretty, too pretty to skip.

Brúarfoss
Brúarfoss
Brúarfoss
Brúarfoss

Gullfoss

No Golden Circle is complete without a visit to Gullfoss, the Golden Falls. Last time we saw a rainbow above it. This time there was no rainbow. Still, the site is very impressive and but now a bit disappointing because of too many people around.

Gullfoss Waterfall (The Golden Falls)
Gullfoss Waterfall (The Golden Falls)

And, well, that was it for 2016 Iceland road trip. Stay tuned for our 2017 Iceland hike from Landmannalaugar to Thórsmörk and beyond, 72 km (45 miles) in 5 days.

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2 Responses

  1. Anne

    Hi Lena and Alex, your photos of your trip are amazing! Thank you for sharing with us! What camera did you use? We are thinking of visiting Iceland later this year. 🙂

    • admin

      Thank you, Anne! We use Pentax K-1 and Canon 6D, both are excellent cameras. 🙂

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